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Indiana's senators are staying out of the debate over whether the Washington Redskins should be renamed to avoid offending Native Americans.

Sen. Joe Donnelly was one of five Senate Democrats who did not sign a letter sent Wednesday to National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell urging the NFL to back a name change.

"Senator Donnelly thinks that the NFL and (team owner) Dan Snyder are best positioned to make a decision about that franchise's name," said Donnelly spokeswoman Elizabeth Shappell.

Donnelly, she said, was focused instead on advancing a proposal to reduce suicides among members of the military.

The letter was not circulated among Senate Republicans. Indiana Sen. Dan Coats, a Republican, said there are plenty of other problems in Washington for him to work on.

"I am a Colts fan, and this is a decision best left to the team's supporters," Coats said.

The letter, signed by 49 senators, says that recent action taken by the NBA against Clippers owner Donald Sterling for his racist remarks "opened up a national conversation about race relations."

"We believe this conversation is an opportunity for the NFL to take action to remove the racial slur from the name of one of its marquee franchises," they wrote.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., wrote his own letter.

Redskins owner Dan Snyder has refused to change the team name, saying he wants to preserve the Redskins' rich tradition. He wrote in an open letter in the Washington Post last fall that many Native Americans are not offended by the name.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Thursday that the Washington team's name has been intended to present a "strong, positive and respectful image."

"The name is not used by the team or the NFL in any other context, though we respect those that view it differently," McCarthy said in a statement.

The senators who signed the letter said they have heard from Native American Groups who oppose the name, including the National Congress of American Indians, United South and Eastern Tribes and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. They said the groups represent more than two million Native Americans from 300 tribes across the country.

Native Americans who lived in what is now Indiana include the Miamis, Potawatomis, Delawares, Shawnees, Kickapoos and Mascoutens.

The U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress can exert more than pressure on the NFL, which is exempt from federal income taxes as a nonprofit, as are several other pro sports leagues.

In March 2013, U.S. Delegate Eni Faleomavaega, a Democrat from American Samoa, and U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma, introduced a bill that would cancel existing trademark registrations containing the term "redskins" in reference to American Indians. The bill has been referred to a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee.